TAXON 58 (4) • November 2009: 1075–1091 Carlson & al. • Phylogeny and character evolution in Dipsacaceae MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS Phylogenetic relationships, taxonomy, and morphological evolution in Dipsacaceae (Dipsacales) inferred by DNA sequence data Sara E. Carlson1, Veronika Mayer2 & Michael J. Donoghue3 1 Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, P.O. Box 208106, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8106, U.S.A.
[email protected] (author for correspondence) 2 Department of Palynology & Structural Botany, Faculty Center of Botany and Botanical Garden, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030, Vienna, Austria 3 Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and the Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, P.O. Box 208106, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8106, U.S.A. A phylogenetic study of Dipsacaceae, a Mediterranean-centered clade in the Dipsacales, was conducted using nuclear ITS and three chloroplast markers (atpB-rbcL, trnL-trnF, trnSUGA-trnGGCC). This is the first molecular study to assess Dipsacaceae phylogeny in detail, and includes representatives from all major subclades. Maxi- mum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analyses were carried out on the ITS and plastid datasets separately and in combination. For the most part, the ITS and plastid datasets resulted in similar topologies, and the combined data yielded a well-resolved estimate of Dipsacaceae phylogeny. A small Asian clade com- posed of Bassecoia and Pterocephalodes hookeri is resolved as sister to the rest of Dipsacaceae. Scabioseae s.str. (Scabiosa, Sixalix, Pterocephalus s.str., Lomelosia, Pycnocomon) and a “Dipknautid” clade (Dipsacus, Cephalaria, Knautia, Pterocephalidum, Succisa, Succisella, Pseudoscabiosa) form the two major lineages within Dipsacaceae. Most of the previously recognized genera are recovered as monophyletic, with the exception of Pycnocomon, which is nested within Lomelosia.